It’s the second time this year they have locked out the top three placings.

Winterbottom finished fourth in the opening race of the Ipswich SuperSprint but with Whincup and Van Gisbergen above him in the championship standings and Lowndes just behind, the Ford ace knows the time to respond is now.

“We’re best of the rest at the moment,” Winterbottom told AAP.

“We can match them but they’re doing a good job. They’re getting it right more times than they’re getting it wrong.”

Winterbottom is far from panicking over his title defence however, backing his own teammates Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters and Saturday’s pole position winner, Chris Pither, to work together to end Triple Eight’s dominance.

“We did this last year. It’s exactly the same and they lifted,” he said.

“They don’t sook, they don’t complain. They get on with it and they’re just bloody good. They’ve turned it around and they’ve got on top of it but we’ve got as smart people that are as hungry as ever.

“We’ve just got to get quicker and work harder.”

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